BYU game

Bryan and I took a quick Friday trip to Provo to watch the BYU game. We left Ethan and Courtney home with Grandam and Grandpa Pack. Once at the stadium, we met up with the McEvoy family to watch the game. We were close to the field, right above the cannon. Courtney hates the cannon so we were glad she decided to stay home. She would have hated it.

It was a fun game to watch and I realized that I miss going to the games. They are a lot of fun.

This was our view of the field:

We decided that next time we are going to bribe Ethan to go to the game with a Cougar Tail. It's a long (18 inch) maple bar. We didn't get one. This photo is of the couple in front of us. 

After the game, we drove back home. We got there about 2 am. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun!

The letter

The stake president told our ward at ward conference in February that we would be splitting. Since then it's been rumor after rumor about when the ward will split and how it will be split.

We went to a Snow Canyon girls soccer game last Friday and the bishop was there. He came over to talk to us and the conversation soon moved to the impending split. Courtney told him how she would split it up. Bishop told her to write a letter to the stake president to tell him how to split the ward. He told her that she could put the blame on him. So of course she wrote the letter. 😉

She hasn't delivered it yet but I wouldn't put it past her.

Ethan's "cripple sticks"

Ethan has been learning all kinds of tricks with his "cripple sticks" as he calls them. He can take a few steps only using the crutches. He can even click his heels. And it is rediculous how fast he can move!

Soccer girl

Courtney had a soccer game last Saturday. She is a pretty good little soccer player. It was an interesting game that got pretty physical. They ended up losing but it was fun to watch her play.

Cruise Day 8 - Going home

It's our last morning on the ship.

We woke up, got ready, finished packing and then went to breakfast.  We were going to get off the ship early so we didn't have to wait all day.  We wanted to get home so Bryan could go to the Priesthood Session of Conference with Bryan and Ethan.

We went to the Centrum (the center of the ship) at the time they told us to and there were a ton of people.  We went to the right and found the back of the line.  It was really confusing because the line wrapped around the Centrum so it was hard to find.  After we got into line they announced that it was too crowded and that the people showing up now had to go to the theater upstairs.  Kathy and Don ended up there.  We waited a long time in line.  Someone who worked on the ship said that there was something missing from the dock that made it so it could move up and down.  The ship was moving too much and making it hard for them to get the gangway attached properly to the ship.  So it was a long wait but we finally got through customs and off the ship.

We left fro a different port than we were arriving in so they had shuttles ready to take us to the other port.  Kevin was waiting for us and was able to take us back to his house and then we went on to Kristina's and got our car.

We made pretty good time.  Bryan and I listened to Conference in the van on our way home.  We were able to make it home in time for Bryan to go with the other men at Golden Corral for dinner before watching the Priesthood session at the Temple Visitor's Center.

We had a GREAT time on our cruise and can't wait to go in May with my family!  We found out that we will be on the same class of ship and the same cruise line, so we will know better what to expect.  I am sure the kids will have a great time!

We decided that cruising is the way to go.  You only have to unpack once, there is a lot to do on the ship, you don't have to pay for meals, you don't have to fight for parking, etc.  We may have to do this more often.

We also had a great time with Don, Kathy, Mark, Kristina and Sydney!  Thanks everyone who made it possible for us to go!

Cruise Day 7 - Ensenada, Mexico

Friday morning we woke up and were on our way to Ensenada, Mexico.  We had been to Ensenada on our honeymoon so we weren't sure what we wanted to do when we got there.

We ate breakfast and decided to get off the ship to explore around.  At the dock there was a shuttle to downtown Ensenada was that only $2 per person so we hopped on.  We had to wait for more people to show up so a man with a guitar got on the shuttle.  We knew what was happening because this happened to us last time.  He would sit and play in front of you until you paid him to go away.  So Bryan got out money and the minute he came over to us Bryan gave him the money and he walked off.  It's hilarious!

When the shuttle was full they took us to downtown but told us that for only $15 per person they would take us to La Bufadora and the outdoor flea market.  We really wanted to do some shopping so we decided that we would pay the money for the trip (it was $50 per person if you booked it on the ship so we were happy we didn't do that).  The tour guide told us all kinds of facts about Ensenada on the way to La Bufadora.  They even stopped at one point so we could take pictures of the scenery:

When we got to the flea market outside of La Bufadora, the tour guide took us through it so we would know what they offer.  At the end, right before we went to La Bufadora, she asked us how long we wanted to wait.  We didn't want to be there forever so we said 30 minutes, another woman said an hour, but you could tell our tour guide wanted us to stay for longer (I think she wanted to try and get us to spend more money).  Finally a woman next to us said, "We want to stay an hour."  Everyone quickly agreed and so the tour guide couldn't do anything but agree with us, but you could tell she wasn't happy about it.

We walked down to La Bufadora and watched it blow water for a little while, took a couple pictures and then went back to do some shopping.

I enjoy bartering in Spanish.  It's really fun to talk them down and see how far you can go.  One man told us as we walked by "I rip you off for less."  That made us laugh.  We were offered samples of all kinds of things from pina coladas to churros (which I probably ate enough samples of to make one regular sized churro).  Bryan bought a fish taco.

We ended up bartering for a couple bags for the kids, a hat for me and a woven bag for me.  I loved the shop with the woven bag because the man wasn't pushy and his stuff was nice.  He gave me a good deal but I had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to buy.  There were just too many choices!

When it was time to meet up with everyone we went back to where the shuttle would be waiting.  Bryan was exhausted and fell asleep.  I paid 50 cents to use the bathroom (and you have to toss the toilet paper in the trashcan).  Then we loaded up and were on our way back to the ship.

Here's my new hat.

We were all kind of tired of the long dinners so we decided to eat at the Windjammer for our last night.  They didn't have too much of a selection but at least it was a lot faster.  We went to the pool, hung out and then Bryan and I went back to the Sports Bar to watch the BYU game.  Unfortunately they had the game playing but there wasn't any sound.  So we went back to our room and watched there.

Cruise Day 6 - At sea

It's Thursday and our day at sea.  We brought a bunch of movies to watch in case we got bored but we never found the time to watch them!

We woke up and went to the gym where I did the stretch class again.  Then we went to breakfast.  At 10 a.m. we went to the theater for the "Captains Corner" where the captain and chief engineer talked about the ship.  It was fascinating.  We learned how old the ship was, how it was built, and all kinds of things about how it runs.  I really enjoyed it!

Then we went to a movie in their theater, which was really nice.  When we finished with the movie we were on our way to the Windjammer for lunch when we saw a BBQ set up by the outdoor pool.  It was winding up but we saw that there was plenty of food so we jumped the rope, grabbed plates and got some food.  It was really good.  Then we sat on the deck to relax and read our books.

Here is a view of the wide ocean.  It was so calm and beautiful.

There was also a ping pong tournament that Don entered.  We went to watch him play.

That night at dinner was the second formal night so we went back to our room to get ready.  It was lobster night so we got to eat some lobster tail, which was very good.  After we ordered, Bryan and I kept trying to catch the sunset.  We hadn't seen it so far in the cruise because we were at dinner every night when it set.  We finally got some pictures with the beautiful sky.

After dinner we went to another show in the theater and then went to bed.

Cruise Day 5 - Monterrey

It's Wednesday (sorry the pic is upside down).

We woke up and we were in Monterey.  We went to the gym where I did the stretch class again.  Then we went to get ready for the day.  There was a misunderstanding with the times the Windjammer would be open so we ended up going to the dining room for breakfast.  We weren't thrilled with this because the menu didn't have anything we really wanted and we didn't want to have to make small talk with a bunch of strangers.  But we found out that they had other options in the dining room so we could get what we wanted.  We ate quickly and then took a tender in to Monterey early to try and avoid the crowds.

Here we are on the tender:

Here is a view of our ship from the tender going into Monterey:

We love Monterey but we were there pretty early so there wasn't a whole lot do to yet.  We walked to Cannery Row and found a bike place that had a tandem bike to rent.  We wanted to bike up the coast and thought it would be fun to ride tandem.  I quickly found out that a) I am not a tandem person and b) I am a chicken on a bike.  I didn't enjoy the tandem at all.  I was really nervous not being in control and I didn't like it at all.  Bryan was steering and had the brakes (which was for the best because I would have been riding the brakes the whole time if I could have).  We made it about 15 minutes up the coast before we decided it would be best to turn around and take the bike back.  The man was pretty surprised when we showed back up but we were done.

By that time the outlet mall was open so we walked to it to do some shopping.  The weather was overcast and there was a bit of a drizzle but it was nice.  We have been really lucky with the weather on the cruise.

We bought some shoes (which is our usual purchase at the outlets in Monterey) and then walked around looking at the shops.  After a while we rode the tender back to the ship.

We went to the pool and our usual hang out to relax.  We read books, napped and just relaxed.  Here are some photos of the indoor pool where we spent most of our time.

We got ready for the day and then went mini golfing.  I think being on the ship helped my score because I ended up getting par, which never happens!  It was a fun little course.

Here is a pic of the climbing wall.  Bryan wanted to try it but it had limited hours and we never got back to it.

Then we found the shuffle board and learned how to play.  It isn't really hard but our shoulders were sore the next day.  I think we played two games.  It's actually a pretty fun game.

We then went to dinner and caught up with everyone's fun activities while we were in Monterey.  After dinner we went to a comedian that was performing in the theater.  He was clean and it was hilarious.

Then Bryan and I went to the Sports Bar to watch the Giant's game on the big screen TVs.  We bought some popcorn and had fun watching the game.  It was late so we went to bed.

Cruise Day 4 - San Francisco day 2

Tuesday morning we were still in San Francisco.

We ate breakfast, got off the ship and walked to Pier 39 to find a bike rental place.

We found a place and were able to get 2 bikes.  We wanted to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge.  We didn't do that the last time we rented bikes so we wanted to this time.  I was amazed at how different it was this time.  The last time we rented bikes was during Fleet Week and there were people EVERYWHERE!!  I couldn't believe the traffic and it was so frightening.  But this time there weren't a lot of people out and about and traffic was really light.  So it was a lot of fun.

You can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

There are only a couple of steep hills but the rest of it is an easy ride.  They told us that it was 12 miles round trip.  Here is a picture of Bryan pointing to where we started.

We got across the Bridge and back without a problem.  We stopped to look around and take pictures.  There was a man in a kayak under the Bridge so we stopped to watch him a little bit.

Here is a picture when we were on our way back.

When we were exploring we decided to go to Fort Point and look around.  I hadn't ever noticed the Fort before.  The Golden Gate Bridge was built right over it.  It was crazy.  They used it as a fortification into the Bay because it is built at the narrowest point in the Bay.  They used it as a military prison after Alcatraz was taken over as a prison (they had used that before as a military prison).  It even had a lighthouse.

We spent quite a while looking at the Fort.  It had beautiful views and a lot of historical information in each of the rooms.

On our ride back to the pier we stopped at Ghiradelli square.  I wanted just a taste of chocolate (because it is so expensive and I didn't want to buy any that would just melt before we got home), but they weren't giving out samples.

I decided that a chocolate covered strawberry would be cheaper than buying a bar of chocolate.  So I picked out a strawberry and went to pay for it.  It was over $5!!  I about died.  So here is what a $5 chocolate covered strawberry looks like:

We went to another Ghiradelli store in the square and they were giving out free samples.  I wish we would have gone there first!

We then biked back to the bike rental place to return our bikes.  It had been a lot of fun to ride around.  We walked to Pier 39 and did a little shopping and looking around.  We always have to stop at Lefty's to get something for Ethan and there was a cute jewelry shop we stopped in to get something for Courtney.  Then we stopped at Chowders for some clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl.  It is the best!

Then we went back to the ship.  Here is our ship docked in San Francisco:

We changed our clothes and went to the hot tub and the pool.  We would go to the pool, then get in the hot tub, then get in the pool, then get in the hot tub, then get out and sit on the chairs while reading a book.  It was so relaxing!

It was then time to go to dinner so we got ready and went to the Tides to eat.  Dinner is always 2 hours long which gave us tons of time to catch up with everyone on how their San Francisco day had gone.

After dinner we went to the Broadway show that was in the theater.  It was a musical where they sang songs from a lot of different Broadway shows.  It was good but not up to Tuacahn standards.  Then we went to bed.

Cruise Day 3 - San Francisco day 1

Monday morning we woke up and were on our way to San Francisco.  We decided to go to the gym to work out.  They had a stretching class that I went to while Bryan ran outside on the running track.  He said it was an interesting experience running while the ship rocked side to side.

Here is the elevator plaque telling us what day it is.  Honestly, it is very easy to forget what day of the week it is.

Here is the running track.

When we finished working out we went to breakfast.  We ate at the Windjammer for the buffet.  We then got our swimming suits on and went to the pool.  We liked the indoor pool the best because we didn't have to worry about sunscreen and  it wasn't as crowded as the outdoor pool.  It was interesting because the pool was salt water so you could float really well.  We also spent time in the hot tub.

The ship has a bunch of competitions that you can enter to win medals.  Mark and Don entered the mini golf tournament so we went to the mini golf course to watch the end of it.  Mark won a medal but Don missed out.  It was pretty windy and cloudy, so it was a bit cold.  But the weather was great because it wasn't too hot.

This is a picture of the outdoor pool.

We went to shower and get ready before lunch.  And then we did a little bit of shopping with Kathy.  I bought a watch (which didn't end up working very well but it got me through the week because I forgot my watch) and then got a free bag.

It was then time to go out and watch us go under the Golden Gate Bridge.  We went to the helipad because it wasn't very crowded.  While we were waiting I looked off the side of the ship and saw something weird.  I kept watching and realized that it was a whale.  Bryan had just left to get his binoculars so he missed it.  But I was able to see some whales, which was really cool.

Then we went under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the harbor.  Bryan and I watched from the side of the ship while they threw the lines to the people at the dock and got the ship secured.  It was nice this time because we didn't have to wait for tenders to take us to shore.  We were right at the dock so we could get off and on whenever we wanted to.

We caught dinner at the Windjammer quickly in the afternoon before it was time to leave the ship and go to the Giant's game.  Mark, Don, Bryan and I had tickets and I was really excited.  I really enjoy going to AT&T Park.  We found a trolley that would take us there, Don paid our fair and we were smashed into the trolley with a ton of other people!  It was crazy but was what usually happens on a game day.  When we got off, with all the masses of other people in orange and black, we walked to AT&T Park and then went in.  It was slick because we had our tickets already and there wasn't much to search in my little purse.  We found our seats and got to watch the game.

It went into extra innings against the Dodgers and we were tired so we left. We grabbed a cab because we didn't want to have to wait for the trolley and we weren't that far from the dock.  It ended up costing us the same amount as the trolley and it was a lot quicker.  With four people the taxi made a ton of sense.  It was actually my first time in a taxi.

In the taxi we were able to listen to the game.  The Giants won!

Cruise Day 2 - Santa Barbara

We got to Santa Barbara in the morning.  After breakfast we went to get tickets for the tender so we could get off the ship and look around.  The ship couldn't get right up to the dock so they had tenders to take us in.  It took a while due to a malfunction on one of the tenders, so we sat and played cribbage while we waited.  When our tender number was called we got on one and went to Santa Barbara.

The coast of Santa Barbara from the ship:

Our selfie from the ship:

The ship:

Santa Barbara downtown wasn't too big so we decided to walk to the central part where the tourist stuff was located.  We stopped by a Starbucks to check our email and download the Women's Meeting so we could watch it later.  We ended up going to the courthouse.  It was so neat because it has a "mural room" where there were beautiful murals on the walls depicting the history of Santa Barbara.

Then we climbed the tower stairs to get to the bell tower.  We could see all around Santa Barbara from there.  We had to take a selfie:

It was getting close to time to get back on the ship, so we paid 50 cents and took the trolley back to the dock.  We met up with Mark, Kristina, Sydney, Kathy and Don on the tender and we went to lunch at the Windjammer.

We were tired so we went back to our room to take a nap.  Bryan climbed in the window so he could watch the world go by.

That night was the first formal night.  Bryan wasn't too happy to bring his suit and have to dress up but we had a fun time being fancy for dinner.  And dinner took about 2 hours each night.  It was crazy but it was a great time to catch up with everyone on what they had done that day and what their plans were for the next day.

I had wanted to go to a movie at the theater on board and Bryan wanted popcorn, so we went to the theater but still had 30 minutes before the movie would begin so we decided to go into the main entertainment for a while.  It was an impressionist who sang.  She was really good and we ended up staying for her entire show.  (The truth is, we were just exhausted it was way past our bedtime so we decided to watch her show for 45 minutes and then go to bed.)